Premier Award winner of Zonta Ashburton Women’s Art Awards (ZAWAA) was Julia Holderness of Christchurch.
Her work Villa Margaux, a studio archive, explores the invented Villa Margaux, France, residency, a fantasy location and an invented art historical frame.
Judge Kyla Mackenzie described the work as ‘‘a feast for the eyes, but also the mind’’.
‘‘The artist has developed a slippery fiction – a female artist named Florence Weir working in the 1930s who travelled to the Mediterranean as did other real New Zealand artists such as Frances Hodgkins.
“We buy into this story willingly and dwell over Florence’s travels, writing, photos, pottery, fabric design and working ideas.’’
Along with a cash prize of $4000, Holderness has won the opportunity to create a solo exhibition at the Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum in 2026.
The ZAWAA25 Young Generation Award, for those aged 16 to 20, went to Margerette Erfe of Christchurch for sculpture I’m an open book?
The judges described it as ‘‘an endearing, tiny stage set made from book pages that is cleverly constructed and suggests a profusion of competing possible selves and ideas’’.
At the recent awards ceremony, Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum Director Shirin Khosraviani spoke about an amazing number of entries for this year’s awards, resulting in the Young Generation category being allocated its own gallery space for the first time.
She also noted a high caliber of work.
In its ninth year, the awards saw an unprecedented 126 entries. Thirty finalists were selected from the 100 entries for the Premier Award, and 25 entries were featured in the Young Generation Award category, for those aged 16-20 years.
Visitors are encouraged to choose their favourite artwork for the People’s Choice award.
The ZAWAA awards exhibition will be on display at the Ashburton gallery and museum until April 27.
